Analysis of soil resistance on laterally loaded piles based on 3D soil–pile interaction

The load distribution and deflection of large diameter piles are investigated by lateral load transfer method (p–y curve). Special attention is given to the soil continuity and soil resistance using three-dimensional finite element analysis. A framework for determining a p–y curve is calculated based on the surrounding soil stress. The appropriate parametric studies needed for verifying the p–y characteristic are presented in this paper. Through comparisons with results of field load tests, the three-dimensional numerical methodology in the present study is in good agreement with the general trend observed by in situ measurements and thus, represents a realistic soil–pile interaction for laterally loaded piles in clay than that of existing p–y method. It can be said that a rigorous numerical analysis can overcome the limitations of existing p–y methods to some extent by considering the effect of realistic three-dimensional combination of pile–soil forces.